New York Times: Congress Rejects Trump Proposals to Cut Health Research Funds
“Back in March, when President Trump released the first draft of his budget proposal for the coming fiscal year, he asked lawmakers for deep cuts to one of their favorite institutions, the National Institutes of Health — part of a broad reordering of priorities, away from science and social spending, toward defense and border security. Six months later, Congress has not only rejected the president’s NIH proposal; lawmakers from both parties have joined forces to increase spending on biomedical research — and have bragged about it. … The House and Senate committees also rejected President Trump’s proposal to eliminate a unit of the NIH that works with other countries to combat global health threats…” (Pear, 9/11).

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International Business Times: Interactive Map Shows What Air Quality Is Doing To Your Life Expectancy
“…A new interactive graphic from the University of Chicago called the Air Quality-Life Index [AQLI] shows how many years of life residents of various countries could gain if their country cut emissions to meet WHO standards. There are an estimated 4.5 billion people who are regularly exposed to levels of these particulates that are two or more times what the WHO recommends is safe…” (Godlewski, 9/11).

Quartz: This is how much of your life air pollution is stealing from you based on where you live
“…Researchers have put together a map based on new findings that show, depending on where you live, how many years of life that gritty air is stealing. In China, the ‘airpocalypse’ is shortening the Chinese lifespan by more than three years, while in India, air pollution can cut a person’s lifespan by four years on average (and nearly a decade for someone in the capital New Delhi)…” (Huang, 9/11).

Quartz: Delhi residents could live up to nine years longer if the government reduced pollution levels
“…The AQLI is based on the results of a new study of pollution and life expectancy near the Huai River in China, published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study isolated the effect of air pollution on lifespans, revealing that an increase of 10 micrograms of PM10 (particulate matter that is 10 micrometers or less in diameter) per cubic meter of air (μg/m3) reduces life expectancy by 0.64 years…” (Thomas, 9/11).

Reuters: Northern China smog cuts life expectancy by 3 years versus south: study
“…Researchers with the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) said average lifespans north of the Huai river, where China supplies mostly coal-fired winter heat, were 3.1 years lower than in the south, which is not covered by the state heating policy. EPIC’s study cites long-term smog exposure as a primary cause of the difference…” (Stanway, 9/11).

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Xinhua: Dutch minister urges new gov’t to support She Decides fund
“Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Lilianne Ploumen has called on the new Dutch government to support ‘She Decides,’ an initiative launched in January to fill the gap caused by [U.S. President Trump’s reinstatement of the Mexico City policy]. As the Netherlands is soon to have a new government, outgoing minister Ploumen said it should carry the torch…” (9/11).

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Mosaic: Abortion, contraception, pregnancy: how women’s bodies became a battle zone
“Women’s reproductive rights are under attack across the globe. Sophie Cousins investigates the challenges women face in accessing abortion and contraception in two very different countries — India and the USA…” (Cousins, 9/12).

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The Guardian: UNICEF appeals for international help for Caribbean islands devastated by Hurricane Irma
“UNICEF has called for the international community to offer more assistance to the devastated Caribbean islands following Hurricane Irma, saying governments around the world seemed to be relying on Britain, France, and the Netherlands to respond to the disaster…” (Davidson, 9/11).

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U.N. News Centre: UNICEF: Decades of progress for children at risk across Middle East and North Africa
“Nearly one-in-five children across the Middle East and North Africa — over 90 percent of whom live in conflict-affected countries — need immediate humanitarian assistance, according to new analysis by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)…” (9/11).

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Devex: How to achieve universal health coverage? Focus on primary care
“…[A]chieving UHC is easier said than done, and many challenges remain — such as training and maintaining health care staff, financing, and making medicines affordable and available. Devex looks at what it will take to overcome these challenges and achieve universal health coverage, including how to strengthen primary health care facilities, how to make such facilities more accessible, and the role that innovation can play in creating and delivering more sustainable systems…” (Politzer, 9/11).

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Inter Press Service: Latin America in Search of Sustainable Food Systems
“…Finding healthy and sustainable food production systems was the idea debated by experts, academics, and representatives of governments of the region and United Nations agencies, at a regional forum held Sept. 5-7 in San Salvador. … The three-day Regional Symposium on Sustainable Food Systems for Healthy Eating in San Salvador was organized by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)…” (Ayala, 9/11).

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Devex: Opinion: Innovative partnerships to end epidemics and pave the way to UHC
Marijke Wijnroks, interim executive director of the Global Fund, and Jonathan Klein, co-founder and chair of Getty Images, Inc. and chair of the Board of Friends of the Global Fight

“…[T]here is still work to be done to end [the HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria] epidemics, and more funding and collaboration across many countries and sectors is needed. … Below are five successful strategies to explore innovative partnerships and financing to see significant gains in both health and health coverage by 2030. 1. Collaboration is flourishing and must be advanced to save more lives. … 2. Encouraging increased domestic financing translates to better health. … 3. Private sector partners are investing more than capital, and it’s working. … 4. A win-win for business: Supporting health can also help the bottom line. … 5. Keep thinking outside the box to grow financial, social, and health returns. … It’s time to step up groundbreaking financial initiatives and work collaboratively to raise the capital needed. Fortunately, there’s something everyone can do: advocate for steady funding for HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria programs, which will support both the growth of [universal health coverage (UHC)] and help end the epidemics for good” (9/11).

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The Lancet Global Health: Facing forwards along the Health Silk Road
Editorial Board

“Last month, China made a significant move towards the consolidation of its role as a major player in global health policy. At the Belt and Road High-level Meeting for Health Cooperation in Beijing, delegates from between 20 and 30 countries plus WHO, UNAIDS, [Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance], and the Global Fund signed a communiqué aimed at increasing collaboration on research, health security, and education among the countries of China’s proposed Belt and Road Initiative [also known as One Belt One Road]. … Signatories to the so-called Health Silk Road communiqué affirmed their commitment to the core missions of health systems strengthening and universal health coverage … Non-communicable diseases, however, were distinctly absent from the High-level Meeting agenda and the Health Silk Road communiqué. Yet these conditions represent 87 percent of total deaths in China … [The nation] should now take the next step and ensure that the One Belt One Road initiative, with its emphasis on development via infrastructure, does not conflict with the admirable aims set out in its own Healthy China 2030 strategy…” (October 2017).

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Devex: Opinion: 5 lessons for policymakers to reduce malnutrition
Ousmane Badiane, Africa director for the International Food Policy Research Institute, and Joachim von Braun, director of the Center for Development Research (ZEF) at the University of Bonn

“…Senegal, Ghana, Rwanda, Angola, Cameroon, Togo, and Ethiopia have all reduced malnutrition levels significantly over the past 15 years, some by as much as 50 percent. Our new report, ‘Nourished: How Africa Can Build A Future Free From Hunger and Malnutrition,’ analyzes what lies behind their success. … Here are five key lessons that these countries’ success can teach all of us working on agriculture and food security. 1. Move from reacting to food emergencies to long-term planning … 2. Make it easier for people to access more nutritious food … 3. Adopt and prioritize a comprehensive, cross-department nutrition policy … 4. Promote broad partnerships to pursue shared goals … 5. Harness the power of technology … Overall, the lesson these countries teach us is that with concerted effort and a commitment to learning from each other and sharing best practice, reducing malnutrition and achieving the Malabo [Declaration] targets and other Sustainable Development Goals is possible…” (9/8).

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New York Times: In Haiti, a Building Fights Cholera
John Cary, architect and author

“…[T]he Cholera Treatment Center, operated by Les Centres Gheskio [and built by MASS Design Group, a Boston-based nonprofit organization that specializes in architecture that promotes dignity and justice in resource-limited settings,] … provides primary care services free of charge to people suffering from tuberculosis, malnutrition, and other life threatening conditions in an area of the Haitian capital that is home to 60,000 Haitians. … To be sure, the cholera treatment center is not solely responsible for halting the [disease’s] spread in Gheskio’s target area. Gheskio also developed a robust water chlorination program and maintains its own factory to produce chlorine. The organization also supports and participates in broad efforts by the Ministry of Health to raise public awareness about symptoms and the risk of contamination throughout the country. … By uniquely combining patient care with on-site water treatment, Gheskio’s center also holds lessons for other regions struggling to contain cholera or facing it in the future…”
(9/12).

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Friends of the Global Fight: Friends Commends Senate for Steady Investment in the Global Fund and U.S. Efforts against AIDS, TB and Malaria
“Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Friends) commends the Senate Committee on Appropriations’ approval of a Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 appropriations bill that would continue steady funding for the Global Fund and major U.S. bilateral global health programs, and an increase in the U.S. investment against tuberculosis (TB)…” (9/11).

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WHO: Fact sheets on Sustainable Development Goals: health targets
WHO released 12 fact sheets on health targets in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including antimicrobial resistance, child and adolescent health, climate change, essential medicine, immunization systems, malaria, measles and rubella, mental health, polio, sexual and reproductive health, tuberculosis, and viral hepatitis. These fact sheets “present key facts and figures, ongoing commitments, guidance on action, and indicators to monitor progress — in the context of the WHO European Region. They also provide specific highlights on how WHO/Europe supports its member states in achieving these targets, and cover key SDG aspects such as equity, partnerships, and intersectoral collaboration” (September 2017).

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Kaiser Family Foundation: Senate Appropriations Committee approves FY 2018 State & Foreign Operations (SFOPs) and Health & Human Services (HHS) Appropriations Bills
This budget summary highlights global health-related funding in the Senate FY 2018 State & Foreign Operations (SFOPs) and Labor, Health & Human Services (LHHS) appropriations bills, which were approved by the Senate Committee on Appropriations on September 7, 2017. Funding provided to the State Department and USAID through the Global Health Programs (GHP) account, which represents the bulk of global health assistance, totaled $8.6 billion, $135 million (2 percent) below the FY17 enacted level, $2.1 billion (33 percent) above the president’s FY18 request, and $269 million (3 percent) above the FY18 House level (9/11).

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